Renata FONTANELLI: I don’t wait for invitations from press services

Renata Fontanelli, the fashion editor of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, is known not just as a fashion journalist, but as a business journalist as well. That is why she understands both the laws of a well-developed fashion industry and the problems of journalism in a country whose economy is based on fashion. In Italy fashion is by far the most profitable sphere, a topic of national pride. As it turns out, it has also become a slippery field for journalists, where those who sell are looking for those who are ready to buy. Why is it so important for us? Ukrainian fashion is also trying to become a real, mature industry. So we should already start thinking about whether domestic journalism is ready for the challenges and temptations of the great fashion market. Is it ready to provide a professional and just critic, which helps the industry to develop and become better and stronger, thus working for the sake of the country’s welfare, rather than being a lackey? As yet this question will be left unanswered. Fontanelli claims that in Italy independent fashion journalists can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and asserts that she’s one of them.

What is the influence of journalism on the quality of the fashion industry in Italy?

“In Italy it is not journalism which has impact on the industry, it is rather the industry that influences journalism. Actually, the situation with influences is not so simple. We have too few free journalists, because almost all media workers are biased or have too many connections with the companies. There are only a few free journalists.”

Apparently, the problem of independent journalism in Italy has its own peculiarities. Unlike Ukraine, where fashion is mostly a creative process, in Italy, it is a business. Hence the problems with independence. What do you do in order to resolve this problem?

“Solving of this problem is quite a complicated process. First, the journalists should not have any connection with companies. Otherwise they turn into ‘check-book’ journalists, who accompany their ‘sponsors’ and receive presents from them. I must admit that Italian journalism in general is going through a crisis, not just the part that deals with fashion, but political and economic journalism as well. The level of journalism has noticeably decreased in Italy.”

In your opinion, what are the typical features of high-quality fashion journalism?

“First of all it is independence. A journalist should be inquiring, witty, and not wait for press conferences. Usually I don’t wait for invitations from press services to cover some events or news. I prefer not to deal with press services at all, because their job is limited to marketing. As a rule, I try to take an interview before a press service contacts me.”

There are always active debates in the journalist milieu, reflecting the current developments. What are the fashion journalists discussing about today?

“Right now we are going through a crisis. Everything’s moving very slowly. Many companies have to shut down. Recently everyone has been living with expectations of changes. But no changes are taking place. And these changes are the prevailing topic of journalists’ debates, because for a long time the industry was spoiled. Whatever it produced, it could always sell it. There was a lot of money, people did not exert themselves, they could spend as much money as they wanted. Now the industry is aware that it has gotten lost in a game. After the crisis many things have changed for the better namely in terms of this understanding. Now we all are waiting for further changes, because fashion is Italy’s main industry. Our country’s economy is largely based on fashion. So we are waiting for a transformation, fresh ideas and new brands, because big brands had monopolized the sphere before the crisis.”

Last but not the least, what impression did the Ukrainian designers, whom you saw for the first time at the 28th Ukrainian Fashion Week, produce on you?

“They are very creative. In particular, I noticed that they take care of the details, work much on the shapes. This means quality. This is not an industry. Of course, if designers work in such a way, this qua-lity can be very costly. And Ukrainian designers’ products are quite expensive. Though the quality corresponds to the price, I wonder: are there many Ukrainians who can afford to buy it?”